Improved indicators for agriculture and food security

Some limitations of the existing set of targets and indicators pointed out by the paper include:

• Use of concepts that are not clearly defined, such as “sustainable practices” and “eco-friendly fertilizers”
• Indicators phrased in a way such that targets can never be achieved, e.g. the prevalence of stunting where height is less than two standard deviations below the median (this indicator will always be constant unless a reference year is set)
• Limited data availability for some indicators.

Abstract

The pursuit of global food security and agricultural sustainability, the dual aim of the second sustainable development goal (SDG-2), requires urgent and concerted action from developing and developed countries. This, in turn, depends on clear and universally applicable targets and indicators which are partially lacking. The novel and complex nature of the SDGs poses further challenges to their implementation on the ground, especially in the face of interlinkages across SDG objectives and scales. Here we review the existing SDG-2 indicators, propose improvements to facilitate their operationalization, and illustrate their practical implementation in Nigeria, Brazil and the Netherlands. This exercise provides insights into the concrete actions needed to achieve SDG-2 across contrasting development contexts and highlights the challenges of addressing the links between targets and indicators within and beyond SDG-2. Ultimately, it underscores the need for integrated policies and reveals opportunities to leverage the fulfillment of SDG-2 worldwide.

Reference

Gil, J.D.B., Reidsma, P., Giller, K., Todman, L., Whitmore, A. and van Ittersum, M., 2018. Sustainable development goal 2: Improved targets and indicators for agriculture and food security. Ambio, pp.1-14.

Read the full paper here. See also the Foodsource building block What is food security?